Video teleconference systems (VTCs) are used to connect meeting participants from one or more remote sites. It has been found through experience that effectiveness of the meeting increases with the illusion that the participants are in the same room. This can be difficult to sustain when switching among several sites, even when the rooms are similarly outfitted, because the act of switching takes control away from participants as to which site to view at any given moment. The current method of switching between participants at different sites impairs the desirable perception that all the participants are in the same room, around a common table. When VTC systems are connected to several remote sites, they may switch between each site on a single display. Alternatively, several VTC systems exist from which one site can view multiple sites and/or multiple participants at once. This can be done with a single display using split screen or windows or alternatively, multiple displays can be used, each showing a site or participant. However, a desirable goal is to foster the illusion that all participants are in one room. Multiple displays or windowed single displays detract from the same-room experience. In addition, these systems do not easily accommodate varying numbers of participants. For example, if many participants or sites are being viewed, the display must switch frequently between participants such that participants are unable to arbitrarily view who they want, as in a real conference room.